English words first found in Chaucer
The English words first found in Chaucer are a set of roughly 2,000 English words that Geoffrey Chaucer is credited as being the first use found today in existing manuscripts.Cannon, p. 129Cannon, pp. 231-233 This does not mean that he was the person to introduce these words into English, but that the earliest extant uses of these words are found in Chaucerian manuscripts.Cannon, pp. 226-230Phelan, pp. 61-70 The words were already in everyday speech in 14th century England (especially London) and other parts of Europe.Baugh, pp. 193-4Fisher, pp. 7-8 The claim is that these words are found for the first time in written manuscripts where he introduced them in one of his extensive works from 1374 - 1400 as the first author to use these particular words. Many of Chaucer's special manuscript words from the 14th century are used today: absent, accident, add, agree, bagpipe, border, box, cinnamon, desk, digestion, dishonest, examination, finally, flute, funeral, galaxy, horizon, infect, ingot, latitude, laxative, miscarry, nod, obscure, observe, outrageous, perpendicular, Persian, princess, resolve, rumour, scissors, session, snort, superstitious, theatre, trench, universe, utility, vacation, Valentine, veal, village, vulgar, wallet, and wildness. Etymology Christopher Cannon, in The Making of Chaucer's English, gives a complete detailed work on the etymology of Chaucer's special manuscript words and references the Middle English Dictionary (MED) definitions and etymology of each of these words.Cannon, 224-460 He points out that the MED does not give details on the etymology of many of Chaucer's derived words, including many compounds, some participial adjectives, and most gerunds. Cannon also points out that, while the Oxford English Dictionary lists Chaucer as the first cited author of these words, it also is mostly silent on the etymologies of these particular derived words.Simpson, Weiner, et al, The Oxford English Dictionary. According to the Library of Congress for those that have academic library subscribing to the OED, here are the steps you can use to find such a list of words: * Once you are in the OED Online, select "Simple Search" found at the bottom of the screen. * Enter the word Chaucer in the box on the upper left of the screen where it says Search for * For the next box below labeled "in," use the pull-down arrow and click on "first cited author." * Most Universities and Colleges and many large public libraries have OED Online where the reference librarian can give you a listing. * The listing output shows Chaucer's works where he is cited as the first cited author of these words and the year the work was published. Cannon furnishes a complete list of Chaucer's special manuscript words with their etymology. Historian Albert Baugh points out that some of Chaucer's aureate words came from Latin or French origin.Baugh, pp. 186 Some of Chaucer's aureate words like laureate, mediation, and oriental eventually became a part of everyday English. Baugh points out that the innovations of word development into common speech and everyday usage, such as these Chaucer words, is of considerable interest in the history of style.Baugh, p. 186 List Below is a complete list of the 1977 Chaucer's special manuscript words that are first found in the existing manuscripts below as listed in the Oxford English Dictionary as being the first cited author. Some now have different spellings and others are given the "root" word definition. Some of these words are now dated or obsolete.Cannon, p. 232 These manuscript words first found written in Chaucer's work, from The Canterbury Tales and other of his publications as shown below, were published in the 14th century. Canterbury Tales General Prologue The Canterbury Tales is a collection of tales written sometime after 1373, with 'sondry folk' that resemble Boccaccio's stories of The Decameron of fleeing nobles. '' acate, affile, alight, ambler, army, arrive, bagpipe, begster, borax, bourdon, bracer, bream, cape, ceruse, chape, clasp, cordial, dagger, debtless, digestible, dormant, Flandrish, foot-mantle, foster, gaud, hostelry, householder, in, jingle, knob, licentiate, line, luce, magic, magician, marrowbone, mercenary, miscarry, moral, pardoner, parvis, patent, perse, session, significavit, stew, wallet, whistling '' The Miller's Tale The Miller's Tale is told by a drunken miller to "quite" (requite) The Knight's Tale. The word "quite" here means to make repayment for a service - telling stories. '' almagest, bragget, chant, cinnamon, fart, forge, haunch-bone, interrogation, keek, kneading, kneading-trough, lab, mislie, out, pearl, Pilate, piping, shelf, slumber, swive, tub, very, vere, watchet '' The Reeve's Tale The Reeve's Tale is about two clerks tricking a miller. This tale is possibly based on Boccaccio's sixth story in The Decameron. '' bodkin, bolt, chime, derere, easement, grass time, halfway, jossa, messuage, mullock, popper, quack, sack, Sheffield, thick and thin, varnish '' The Cook's Tale The Cook's Tale is a tale of an apprentice named Perkins who is fond of drinking and dancing. He ultimately is released from his master and moves in with a friend. This friend's wife is a prostitute. The story becomes more 'seedy', continuing the downward trend of the preceding tales. bribe, convertible, galliard, Harry, Hodge, louke, prenticehood The Man of Law's Tale The Man of Law's Tale is a story about a Christian princess named Constance. She is to marry a Syrian Sultan on condition that he convert to Christianity. His mother gets involved and sets her adrift at sea. '' constabless, crone, dilatation, erect, femininity, feminity, man of law, mortally, motive, muse, peace, seriously, victorious, wrack '' The Wife of Bath's Tale The Wife of Bath's Tale is a tale about marriage. Scholars have associated this story as one of the so-called "marriage group" of Chaucer tales. '' annex, ascendant, ba, bum, bumble, caterwaul, chose, disfigure, Ecclesiast, inclination, lure, Martian, peace, preamble, preambulation, resemblance, reveller, sip, spaniel, squire, stubborn, taur, vacation'' The Friar's Tale The Friar's Tale is a satirical attack on the profession as a summoner. '' approver, bribe, bribery, determinate, flattering, foal, rebeck '' The Summoner's Tale The Summoner's Tale is a tale in defense of the satirical attack by the Friar. '' acceptable, chirt, dagon, demoniac, demonstrative, Dives, equally, pismire, reverberation, spence, swarm, tip, trip '' The Clerk's Tale The Clerk's Tale is the story of Griselda, a young woman whose husband tests her loyalty. '' amble, archwife, Chichevache, constant, dishonest, frowning, gaze, laureate, marquisess, mazedness, proem '' The Merchant's Tale The Merchant's Tale reflects Boccaccio's Decameron seventh day in his ninth tale. Chaucer's tale is a sexually explicit story. '' a-noon, arc, bedstraw, brotelness, court-man, crake, hippocras, houndfish, ordinate, preen, Priapus, procreation, skink, sole, struggle, superlative, veal, vernage, visage '' The Squire's Tale The Squire's Tale is a tale of the Squire who is the Knight's son. The tale is an epic romance about a novice warrior and lover with more enthusiasm than experience. It is quite explicit and descriptive. '' albe, digestion, exaltation, feastly, heronsew, Pegasus, peregrine, plumage, poleyn, prolixity, prospection, prospective, resound, serve, Tartar, Tatar, trench, trill, trill'' The Franklin's Tale The Franklin's Tale focuses on issues of providence, truth, and generosity. A franklin was a medieval landowner. '' alnath, Armorica, arrayed, begged, begeth, collect, considering, declination, desk, equation, expanse, falconer, faring, Nowell, opposition, Parnassus, proportional, rigour, superstitious '' The Physician's Tale The Physician's Tale is a domestic drama about the relationship between a daughter and her father. '' award, definitive, notable, vicar general '' The Pardoner's Tale The Pardoner's Tale is a tale in the form of a moral example. '' bet, cinque, cinq, clink, corny, corpus, domination, envelop, fen, Galianes, policy, rioter, saffron, sane, village '' The Shipman's Tale The Shipman's Tale is similar to some of Boccaccio's stories in his Decameron and tells the story of a stingy merchant, his greedy wife and her lover. '' creance, porteous, score '' The Prioress's Tale The Prioress's Tale story is of a child martyr killed by Jews. '' outcry, sold '' Tale of Sir Topas Tale of Sir Topas is a self-portrait of Chaucer in an unflattering and humble manner. He presents himself as a reserved awkward person. '' amble, piercing, poppet'' "award" - The Physician's Tale, line 202 This man shall have his slave, as my '''award.' '^''' "praise" - The Romaunt of The Rose, line 6930 I '''praise' nothing whatever they see.]] The Knight's Tale ''The Knight's Tale introduces many typical aspects of knighthood such as courtly love and moral issues. alan, attourne, breastplate, broid, buckle, cerrial, chaas, Circe, citrine, clottered, collared, execute, expel, expulsive, feminie, fluttery, funeral, gigge, holm, howl, huntress, intellect, kemp, lacing, laxative, Lucina, melancholic, menacing, mishap, mortal, mover, murmur, murmuring, muzzle, naker, narcotic, nymph, obsequy, obstacle, opie, opposite, oyez, parament, party, perturb, pharmacy, plain, portraiture, possibility, princess, progression, refuge, renting, returning, save, saving, serie, shouting, smiler, strangle, strangling, tester, thoroughfare, turret, vanishing, variation, vital, vomit, whippletree, winged The Tale of Melibee The Tale of Melibee is an intentionally boring tale. '' accidental, accomplish, annoyful, anoyful, arbitration, blameful, brigue, chincher, chinchery, commit, counterwait, damnably, desiring, edifice, especial, estable, examination, examining, formal, garnison, hotchpotch, information, mishappy, persevere, pertinent, retain, withholding '' The Monk's Tale The Monk's Tale is a collection of seventeen short stories on the theme of tragedy. These are of Lucifer, Adam, Samson, Hercules, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Zenobia, Pedro of Castile, Peter I of Cyprus, Bernabò Visconti, Ugolino of Pisa, Nero, Holofernes, Antiochus, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Croesus. The Monk's Tale De Casibus Virorum Illustrium of these illustrious men is modeled after Boccaccio's De Casibus Virorum Illustrium of illustrious men. '' afear, annunciate, appurtenant, armless, centaur, Cerberus, clubbed, consecrate, conspiracy, contributary, cursedly, customance, custumance, hexameter, humblehede, importable, leonine, lim-rod, misery, misgovernance, monster, morality, Occident, orient, officer, Persian, pompous, precept, proverb, Septentrion, size, sperm '' The Nun's Priest's Tale The Nun's Priest's Tale of the Cock and the Hen, Chanticleer and Partlet poem is a vigorous and comical beast fable and mock epic. '' aha, apoplexy, catapuce, centaury, cholera, chuck, clinking, cottage, digestive, embattled, fortunate, fumitory, herb Ive, jade, jet, laureole, poop, reverse, tame, tiptoe '' The Second Nun's Tale The Second Nun's Tale tells the story of Saint Cecilia. '' chasteness, eternal, noble, oppose, oppress, outer, preface, prefect, proceed, rote, soul, trine '' The Canon's Yeoman's Tale The Canon's Yeoman's Tale is an attack on alchemists. '' ablution, amalgam, ammoniac, argol, arsenic, blunder, bole, calcination, calcining, cered, chalk-stone, citrination, clergial, coagulate, corrosive, crude, cucurbit, elixir, fermentation, fusible, gris, hayne, hazelwood, induration, ingot, introduction, lamp, luna, lunary, magnesia, malleable, mollification, orpiment, pellitory, porphyry, proffered, prowl, rap, rehearsal, relent, rosary, sal, sluttish, sol, sublime, sublimed, tartar, test, vitriol '' The Manciple's Tale The Manciple's Tale is a story of a purchasing agent for a law court telling a fable about Phoebus Apollo and his pet crow. '' affect, bottle, cock, nod, palled, python, rackleness, textual, titleless '' The Book of the Duchess The Book of the Duchess is a poem on the death of Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster and the first wife of John of Gaunt. '' aside, bagge, bear '' The Parson's Tale The Parson's Tale is a prose treatise on virtuous living. '' annoyance, appertain, ardour, ardor, arrogant, barring, bending, castle, closure, clotheless, consideration, contract, contumacy, create, curiousness, cutted, dedicate, departed, dishonesty, durable, elation, embracing, emprise, eschew, furring, gabber, hernia, homicide, homily, hostler, humiliation, impudent, manslaughter, material, mistrest, mortification, mystery, natural law, nigromancian, observe, ordure, ours, paling, parting, pax, perdurable, performing, platly, pounced, pouncing, raffle, replenish, retraction, slumbery, somnolence, springer, sticking, strangeness, sustenant, talker, thunderclap, total, trey, uncharitably '' Parlement of Foules The Parliament of Fowls is a love poem associated with Valentine's Day. Many claim Chaucer is the mythmaker of the concept as we know it today.Oruch, Jack B., "St. Valentine, Chaucer, and Spring in February," Speculum, 56 (1981): 534–65. Oruch's survey of the literature finds no association between Valentine and romance prior to Chaucer. He concludes that Chaucer is likely to be "the original mythmaker in this instance." Colfa.utsa.edu - "St. Valentine, Chaucer, and Spring in February." Chaucer as Valentine mythmaker '' abstinent, bedside, blossomed, cackling, Cupid, disfigurate, dishevel, disobeisant, entitle, facund, formel, formal, horologe, messagery, mirthless, tercel, tiercel, tercelet, tiercelet, uncommitted, untressed, valence, Valentine, west '' The Romaunt of the Rose The Romaunt of the Rose is an allegorical dream, in which the narrator receives advice from the god of love on gaining his lady's favor, her love being symbolized by a rose. '' absent, communably, forwelk, fresh, fur, galantine, guerdon, habit, householding, jacounce, jagounce, jargon, jocund, lambskin, lightsome, lozenge, mansuete, masonry, mavis, medlar, mendicity, mendience, miscoveting, misway, mourning black, muid, nock, non-certain, obscure, overgilt, outwine, outstretch, outsling, palasin, papelardy, par coeur, parochial, patter, praise, prill, prime temps, Proteus, quail-pipe, racine, ravisable, recreandise, refraining, reft, resemblable, return, reverie, ribanding, rideled, riverside, roin, roinous, rose-leaf, sailour, Sarsenish, satin, savorous, scutcheon, seemlihead, shutting, slitter, smallish, snort, squirrel, suckeny, tassel, terin, thick-set, thread, timbester, tissue, tress, tretis, villainsly, volage, waterside, well-arrayed, well begone, well beseen, well-fed, wyndre '' The House of Fame The House of Fame is a love poem based on works by Ovid and Virgil. The allegorical poem consists of a dream that journeys to two temples, The House of Fame and The House of Rumour which are various aspects of truth and falsehood. '' accustomance, check, act, agreeable, airish, appearance, arrivage, arrival, assail, babery, blaze, burned, cadence, casually, celestial, clarion, congealed, conservative, corbet, cornemuse, covercle, crowding, dear-bought, desesperat, dissimulation, doucet, dowset, ducat, duration, encumbrous, existence, feminine, fouldre, fumigation, galaxy, gig, greenish, harmony, Hebraic, herald, herd-groom, herewithal, humble, inclined, inclining, intermeddle, lee, lilting, masty, Milky Way, minstrelly, misgovernment, ray, renovelance, rumble, scissors, signal, spring, stellify, sorceress, sweynt, syllable, tewel, tuel, tinned, unshut, upper '' Boece Boece is Chaucer's work derived from The Consolation of Philosophy, a Latin work originally written by the Roman Christian philosopher Boethius around A.D. 524. '' abashing, accordable, add, address, adjection, adjoust, adjudge, administer, admonishing, admonition, agreeability, agreeably, albeit, alien, all-utterly, amenuse, amenusing, amoved, annoying, annoyously, anointed, arbitry, Arcturus, ardent, armourer, asperness, assigned, astoning, attaste, attemper, attemperance, attention, auster, autumn, awaiter, beholder, bespot, betiding, biting, blandishing, blissfulness, border, byname, Caurus, cavern, celebrable, centre, center, coemption, coetern, commonality, commove, complish, compotent, compound, comprend, compress, conject, conjoin, conjunction, conjuration, consequent, conservation, consular, contagious, continuation, contrary, convenient, corollary, corrige, Corybant, credible, declaring, decreet, defeat, definish, delicate, delie, delye, deluge, demonstration, despoiling, destinable, destinal, differing, disarm, discording, discourse, disincrease, disordinance, dispensation, dispense, dissolve, distempre, distrait, divide, divination, division, dull, durability, during, eager, echinus, egality,'' empoisoning, emprent, enbaissing, enchafe, enchantress, encharge, endamage, endark, enduring, enhance, enlace, ensampler, entach, entech, entalent, environing, eschaufe, establish, estimation, eternity, everyday, eve-star, evidently, exceed, exempt, exerce, exercitation, exiling, fellness, fellowship, felonous, festivally, fleeing, flitting, fluttering, foleye, forline, formly, fortuit, fortunel, fortunous, frounce, furthest, gaping, gastness, geometrian, ginner, gizzard, glaring, glow, governail, guerdon, guideress, habitacule, habitation, harmfully, henter, Hesperus, hider, honeyed, honied, hustlement, hydra, ignorant, imaginable, immovability, immovable, impair, imperial, impetre, imply, imposition, imprint, inconvenient, indifferently, indignation, inestimable, infect, infinity, infirm, inhabit, interchanging, intercommuning, interlace, interminable, jangling, jaw, jointure, knower, lash, leecher, lost, luxure, manifest, Marmaric, marvelling, marveling, meanly, misdrawing, misknowing, miswandering, movability, mowing, mutable, necess, nilling, orphelin, overlight, over-swift, overthrowing, overwhelve, perdurability, plungy, poetical, porism, portionable, presentary, previdence, pronouncer, proportionable, purveyable, reasoning, reddy, redoubt, reduce, remount, rending, replenished, replication, requirable, resist, resolve, resounding, resounding, rhetorian, roil, roundness, rower, rumour, sarplier, scaping, scorkle, semblable, senatory, sensibility, sensible, shadowy, showing, similitude, simplicity, singler, Sirius, skilling, slaked, slead, smoking, smoothness, stadie, starlight, starry, speculation, Stoician, suasion, submit, summit, superfice, supply, sway, sweller, tempest, theatre, theater, thenceforth, thunderer, thunderlight, tragedian, tragedy, tranquillity, transport, troublabla, tumbling, twitter, two-footed, unagreeable, unassayed, unbetide, unbowed, uncovenable, undepartable, undiscomfited, undoubtous, uneschewable, unexercised, ungentle, unhoped, universal, universality, universality, unleeful, unmovablety, unparegal, unperegal, unpiteous, unpiteous, unplight, unplite, unraced, unscience, unsolemn, unstanchable, unstanched, untreatable, unusage, unweened, unwit, unworshipful, unwrap, upheaping, used, variant, vengeress, voluntarily, weening, weeply, withinforth, witnessfully, wood '' Anelida and Arcite Anelida and Arcite is a retelling of an old Roman story previously written by Boccaccio. '' assure, awaiting, causeless, chair, chantepleure, crampish, crookedly, desolate, doubleness, ecliptic, excuse, lowly, sound, subtile, Theban, whaped, unfeigned, whaped, womanhead '' Troilus and Criseyde Troilus and Criseyde is a story from Boccaccio's ''Il Filostrato. '' abbetting, abusion, accident, accord, accusement, adieu, adorn, adverse, advertence, advocary, a-game, agree, alembic, aloud, alter, ambassador, appoint, argument, alite, ambage, amphilbology, argument, Aries, a-root, asfast, askance, asper, aspre, astrologer, atrede, attendance, attrition, atwixt, audience, augury, avaunter, await, bawdry, bay, beblot, befalling, benignity, bestiality, betrend, beware, blossomy, bounteous, burn, bypath, calculing, captive, casual, childishly, chittering, circle, circumscrive, collateral, combust, comedy, complain, complete, conceit, concord, conserve, consolation, constraint, continuance, convers, counterpoise, cramp, crow's foot, cumber-world, curation, dart, defeit, defet, define, deliber, deliberation, derring do, desespeir, desesperance, desesperaunce, determine, digression, direct, disadvance, disadventure, disblame, disconsolate, discordable, discordant, disdainous, disjoint, dispone, disport, disposition, disseverance, dissimule, distil, distill, disturn, divineress, dulcarnon, embassador, enchant, enterpart, entune, erratic, estately, estrange, exchange, excusable, execute, executrice, expert, eyed, faithed, farewell, fatal, fate, faun, feasting, fervently, fetching, finally, firmly, fix, forbysen, forlose, forpass, fury, future, gaure, goodlihead, good night, goosish, governance, graceless, groof, grufe, guide, half-god, hardiment, hawking, heinous, hemisphere, herdess, heroner, hollowness, homecoming, horizon, howne, humbly, hust, immortal, impression, increase, in-eche, infernal, influence, infortune, inhelde, inhielde, injure, inknit, intendment, interchange, intercommune, janglery, jeopard, Jove, jumper, just, kankedort, knotless, let-game, lethargy, liberty, lign-aloes, loadstar, lodestar, martial, mask, melodious, misaccount, misconstrue, misforgive, mislived, mismeter, molest, muck, mucker, munch, mutability, natal, native, new, nouriture, occidental, oriental, ounded, outring, overcarve, over-haste, over-rede, palaceward, palaceward, palaestrial, parody, peoplish, philosophical, phrenetic, plumb rule, pole arctic, predestiny, pregnant, Progne, proverb, qualm, racket, rackle, railed, refigure, refrain, refreid, reheting, reprehension, repression, resistence, resort, resport, return, revoke, Robin, rootless, rosy, royal, ruin, safeguard, saluing, sand, satyr, scrivenliche, secondly, sentiment, shapely, signifer, sling-stone, slink, sliver, snowish, soar, sob, space, strangely, subtilty, sugared, sunnish, surplus, supprise, teary, tempestous, testy, thriftily, thrifty, trance, transitory, transmew, trapdoor, tremor, unapt, unbody, unbridled, unbroided, uncircumscript, undeserved, unespied, unfeelingly, unhappily, universe, unkissed, unlikeliness, unlove, unmanhood, unnest, unprayed, unsheathe, unsitting, unswell, unthrifty, untied, untormented, untroth, unwist, urn, vapour, verre, vetch, virtueless, voidee, voluptuous, vulgarly, vulture, wantrust, weak, well-shapen, well-willy, wester, wieldy, womanhood, womanish, wrongfully, yfled, yold, yolden '' ' ]] The Legend of Good Women The Legend of Good Women is a dream vision love poem. '' accompass, adulation, agrote, angel-like, angrily, appete, appetite, arguing, bedote, bench, betraising, bleeding, box, bridled, browd, clift, complaining, countryward, crinkled, distain, during, emboss, ensure, eternally, everything, famous, father-in-law, felicity, figuring, fingering, fleuron, forgiving, foundation, fret, gledy, graciousness, imagining, infinite, joining, knightly, lure, Mantuan, paper-white, penful, presenting, radevore, reclaiming, renownee, ruled, seemliness, skirmishing, stately, storial, subtilly, subtilely, tidife, tidive, tuteler, toteler, virelay, well, wifehood '' Treatise on the Astrolabe Treatise on the Astrolabe is Chaucer's scientific paper of clearer definitions on how to use the Astrolabe, an astronomical instrument. '' adding, aline, almanac, almucantar, almury, altitude, Arabic, Arctic, arm-hole, Arsechieles tables, azimuth, calculer, Capricorn, coldness, compilator, concentric, couching, crepuscule, cross-line, denticle, depression, descension, direct, distant, elevate, elevation, elongation, embelif, epicycle, equal, equator, equinox, fraction, Gemini, gerful, Greek, half-ebb, hence-forthward, indeterminate, intercept, introductory, latitude, line-right, longitude, lop-web, meridian, perpendicular, possibly, precedent, rete, retrograde, right angle, scale, Scorpio, second, septentrional, site, solid, solsticion, succedent, Taurus, tortuous, tropic, unstrange, usward, utility, vulgar '' Miscellaneous poems Below are words first attested to in his miscellaneous poems. *''An ABC *''Balade to Rosemounde'' *''Chaucers Wordes unto Adam, His Owne Scriveyn'' *''Complaint to His Lady'' *''Fortune'' *''Gentilesse'' *''Lak of Stedfastnesse'' *''Lenvoy de Chaucer a Scogan'' *''Lenvoy de Chaucer a Bukton'' *''Proverbs'' *''The Complaint unto Pity'' *''The Complaint of Chaucer to his Purse'' *''The Complaint of Mars'' *''The Complaint of Venus'' *''The Former Age'' *''The Truth'' *''Womanly Noblesse'' '' accumbrous, advocatrice, ancille, artillery, aspen, benevolence, besprent, blaspheme, blasphemer, cannel-bone, carrack, carack, cart-wheel, castigation, causer, collusion, comeliness, complaint, confeder, convict, coverter, craze, create, dapple-grey, delicacy, desespeire, desperation, distrouble, down, dullness, dulness, emboss, enfortune, enlumine, entune, envoy, envy, errant, eterne, fattish, fawn, feigned, fers, fickleness, fleshy, flute, forloin, fortune, fortuned, furious, gere, glazing, half-word, hearse, Hercules, humblesse, inconstance, interess, jane, knack, lake, lambish, lancegay, leer, likeliness, limer, litster, lustihead, meet, midpoint, overstrew, prose, rechase, resign, royalty, scant, seeming, solein, solitude, sore, sough, sturdily, suffisance, suing, surmount, sweaty, tall, Tantalus, tapet, Tartary, tickleness, tongued, traitress, traitoress, Turkey, tyranny, uncorven, uncoupling, unforged, ungrubbed, unsown, weld, well-faring, well-founded, whirling, wildly, wildness '' Usages Below are some of the words first found in Chaucer's manuscripts that we use today and how they were used in his poems in the 14th century. word annoyance approach aspect begger cense centaur chose cinnamon citrine consecrate consideration conspiracy contract create depart derive desk digestion disfigure dismembering displeasant double-tongue durable exaltation execute fart feast femininity forge funeral ' galaxy ' hexameter homicide howl humiliation huntress kneading laborious laureate laxative lure magician menacing mercenary ' Milky Way ' ' muzzle ' ' noble ' ' nymph ' ' observe ' ' outrageous ' ' Persian ' ' philosophical ' ' plumage ' ' princess ' ' resound ' ' scissors ' ' session ' ' soar ' ' superlative ' ' superstitious ' ' thick and thin ' ' vacation ' ' wallet ' Middle English usage Suffrance suffreth swetely alle the '''anoyaunces' '' whan she '''approched' to jhesu Crist'' Som wikke '''aspect' or disposicioun '' And been a '''beggere;' heere may I nat dwelle '' Gooth with a '''sencer' on the haliday'' He of '''Centaures' layde the boast adoun'' For if I wolde selle my bele '''chose' ''My faire bryd, my sweete '''cynamome?' ''His nose was heigh, his eyen bright '''citryn' ''And was to God Almighty '''consecrate' ''Heere bihoveth the '''consideracioun' of the grace Of jhesu crist'' Ful privily hath made '''conspiracie' Against this Julius'' whan the soule is put in oure body, Right anon is '''contract' original synne'' And Al be it so that God hath '''creat' alle thynges In right ordre'' Shal nat '''departe' from his hous '' That every part '''dirryveth' from his hool'' Hadde prively upon his '''desk' ylaft'' The norice of '''digestioun,' the sleep'' She sholde tellen of his '''disfigure. ''' ne swereth nat so synfully in '''dismembrynge' of crist by soule'' Moost '''displesant' to crist, and moost adversarie. '' Now comth the synne of '''double-tonge' ''Remoeven harmes and to han thynges espiritueel and '''durable' ''For he was neigh his ' exaltacioun '' ''That '''executeth in the world over al '' Of '''fartyng,' and of speche daungerous.'' He leet the '''feeste' of his nativitee '' How wonnen was the regne of '''femenye ''' That in his '''forge' smythed plough harneys '' Putte in the fyr of '''funeral' servyse'' '' See yonder, lo, the galaxyë Of sixe feet, which men clepe '''examétron' ''Of worldly shame? certes, an horrible ' homicide. '' ''Shrighte emelye, and '''howleth palamon'' Nat sory of his '''humiliacioun.' ''With bowe in honde, right as an '''hunteresse' ''He hadde yboght hym '''knedyng' tubbes thre'' And myn office is ful '''laborous' ''Fraunceys petrak, the '''lauriat' poete'' Vomyt upward, ne dounward '''laxatif. ''' With empty hand men may none haukes ' lure. '' '' In al the lond '''magicien was ther non '' By '''manasynge' of mars, right by figure. '' '' He was a shepherde and noght a mercenarie. '' '' Which men clepeth the Milky Wey '' '' And folwed hym with mosel faste ybounde '' '' And saluces this noble contree highte. '' '' The nymphs, the fauns, the hamadryades '' '' Jhesu Crist and his freendes observede to shewen in hir lyve. '' '' outrageous wratthe dooth al that evere the devel hym comaundeth '' '' and it shal be To Meedes and to Perses geven '' '' To the and to the, philosophical Strode '' '' As wel of plumage as of gentillesse '' '' Though that she were a queene or a princesse '' '' That all the wode resouned of hire cry. '' '' Withoute rasour or sisoures '' '' At sessiouns ther was he lord and sire '' '' I woot wel, for to sore As doth an hauk '' '' Ther nys no thyng in gree superlatyf '' '' Of swich a supersticiuos cursednesse. '' '' thurgh thikke and thurgh thenne. '' '' Whan he hadde leyser and ' vacacioun ''' '' His walet lay biforn hym in his lappe '' Modern English usage Tolerance suffers sweetly all the '''annoyances' '' when she '''approached' Jesus Christ'' Some evil disposition or '''aspect' '' And be a '''beggar;' here I cannot dwell '' Went with a '''censer' on the holy day'' Of '''centaurs' laid he all the boastings down'' For if I would go peddle my belle '''chose' ''My '''cinnamon', my fair bird, my sweetie'' His nose was high, his eyes a bright '''citrine' ''And was to God Almighty '''consecrated' ''here it behooves one to give '''consideration' to the grace of Jesus Christ'' Full secretly did lay '''conspiracy' Against this Julius'' when the soul is put into a body, immediately is '''contracted' original sin'' '' And though it be that God has created all things in right order'' Will not '''depart' from his house '' That every part '''derives' but from the whole'' Which book he'd privately on his '''desk' left'' The nurse of good ' digestion, ' natural sleep She'd tell of his '''disfigurement' impure. '' swear not so sinfully, thus '''dismembering' Christ by soul'' this sin is most '''displeasing' to Christ, and most hateful.'' Now comes the sin of the '''double-tongued' ''removal of evils and to obtain things spiritual and '''durable' ''For he was near his ' exaltation '' ''That '''executes in this world, and for all'' Of '''farting' and of language haughtyish.'' He let the '''feast' of his nativity '' Was gained the realm of ' Femininity '' ''Who in his smithy '''forged plow parts'' Lighted the sacred '''funeral' fire'' '' lo, see yonder the galaxy'' In six feet, which men call '''hexameter' ''Certainly, such a one is called a horrible '''homicide.' ''Shrieked Emily and '''howled' now Palamon'' not sorry for his '''humiliation.' ''With bow in hand, like any right '''huntress' ''Procured these '''kneading'-tubs, or beer-vats, three'' My job is most '''laborious' ''Francis Petrarch, the '''laureate' poet'' By vomiting or taking '''laxative ''' '' With empty hand men may no falcons ' lure ''' '' In all that land magician was there none '' The '''menacing' of Mars, in likeness sure'' He was a shepherd and not '''mercenary.' '' which men call the '''Milky Way ''' '' And so they followed him, with muzzles bound '' '' Saluzzo is this noble region bright. '' '' The nymphs, the fauns, the hamadryades '' '' Jesus Christ and His friends observed in their lives. '' '' outrageous wrath does all that the Devil orders '' '' and it shall be To Medes and Persians given now '' '' and to you, ' philosophical ' Strode '' '' As well of plumage as of nobleness '' '' Although she be a queen or a princess '' '' rill all the wood resounded mournfully. '' '' not the kind with razor or scissors '' '' At county sessions was he lord and sire '' '' I have no cause to soar like a hawk '' '' There is no pleasure so ' superlative ''' '' Of such a ' superstitious ' wickedness. '' '' through ' thick and thin. ''' '' When he had leisure and took some ' vacation ''' '' His wallet lay before him in his lap '' Poem and estimated year it came out The Parson's Tale, c. 1386 The Parson's Tale, c. 1386 The Knight's Tale, c. 1385 The Franklin's Tale, c. 1386 The Miller's Tale, c. 1386 The Monk's Tale, c. 1375 Wife of Bath's Tale, c. 1386 The Miller's Tale, c. 1386 The Knight's Tale, c. 1386 The Monk's Tale, c. 1375 The Parson's Tale, c. 1386 The Monk's Tale, c. 1386 The Parson's Tale, c. 1386 The Parson's Tale, c. 1386 The Parson's Tale, c. 1386 The Knight's Tale, c. 1385 The Franklin's Tale, c. 1386 The Squire's Tale, c. 1395 Wife of Bath's Tale, c. 1386 The Parson's Tale, c. 1386 The Parson's Tale, c. 1386 The Parson's Tale, c. 1386 The Parson's Tale, c. 1386 The Squire's Tale, c. 1386 The Knight's Tale, c. 1385 The Miller's Tale, c. 1386 The Squire's Tale, c. 1386 The Knight's Tale, c. 1385 The Miller's Tale, c. 1386 The Knight's Tale, c. 1385 The House of Fame, c. 1380 The Monk's Tale, c. 1375 The Parson's Tale, c. 1386 The Knight's Tale, c. 1386 The Parson's Tale, c. 1386 The Knight's Tale, c. 1385 The Miller's Tale, c. 1386 The Friar's Tale, c. 1386 The Clerk's Tale, c. 1386 The Knight's Tale, c. 1385 Wife of Bath's Tale, c. 1386 The Monk's Tale, c. 1375 The Knight's Tale, c. 1385 Canterbury Prologue, c. 1387 The House of Fame, c. 1384 The Knight's Tale, c. 1385 The Clerk's Tale, c. 1395 The Knight's Tale, c. 1385 The Parson's Tale, c. 1386 The Parson's Tale, c. 1386 The Monk's Tale, c. 1375 Troilus and Criseyde, c. 1374 The Squire's Tale, c. 1395 The Knight's Tale, c. 1385 The Squire's Tale, c. 1395 The House of Fame, c. 1384 Canterbury Prologue, c. 1386 Troilus and Criseyde, c. 1374 The Merchant's Tale, c. 1386 The Franklin's Tale, c. 1386 The Reeve's Tale, c. 1386 Wife of Bath's Tale, c. 1386 Canterbury Prologue, c. 1387 See also *Vernacular *Middle English *English literature *Medieval literature *Middle English literature *Dictionary of Old English *Middle English Dictionary *Oxford English Dictionary *Shakespeare's influence: Vocabulary Footnotes References * Baugh, Albert Croll, A History of the English Language, Prentice-Hall 1978, London. ISBN 0-13-389239-5. * Brown, Peter, A companion to Chaucer, Wiley-Blackwell, 2002. ISBN 0-631-23590-6. * Burnley, David, A guide to Chaucer's language, Macmillan, 1983. ISBN 0-333-33532-5. * Cannon, Christopher, The making of Chaucer's English: a study of words, Cambridge UP, 1998. ISBN 0-521-59274-7. * Chaucer, Geoffrey, The works of Geoffrey Chaucer, Macmillan, 1898. * Chaucer, Geoffrey, The Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer: The house of fame, The legend of good women '', Editor: Walter William Skeat. Clarendon, 1894. * Cousin, John W., ''A short biographical dictionary of English literature, Babylon Dreams, 1910. ISBN 1-60303-696-2. * Davis, Norman, A Chaucer Glossary, Clarendon, 1979. ISBN 0-19-811171-1. * Elliott, Ralph Warren Victor, Chaucer's English, Deutsch, 1974. ISBN 0-233-96539-4. * Fisher, John H., The emergence of standard English, UP of Kentucky, 1996. ISBN 0-8131-0852-7. * Gardner, John, Life and Times of Chaucer, Barnes & Noble, 1999. ISBN 0-7607-1281-6. * Gosse, Edmund, English literature : an illustrated record '', Heinemann, 1906. * Horobin, Simon, ''Chaucer's language, Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. ISBN 1-4039-9356-4. * Langer, William Leonard, An encyclopedia of world history, ancient, medieval and modern ..., Volume 1, Houghton Mifflin, 1948. * Lee, Sir Sidney, Dictionary of national biography, Smith, Elder, 1903. * Phelan, Walter S., The Study of Chaucer's Vocabulary, Computers and the Humanities, Vol. 12, No. 1/2, Medieval Studies and the Computer, 1978. * Stearns, Peter N., The Encyclopedia of world history: ancient, medieval, and modern '', Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001. ISBN 0-395-65237-5. * Tatlock, John S. P., ''The Development and Chronology of Chaucer's Works, BiblioBazaar, 2009. ISBN 1-110-65731-5. * Simpson, J. A., Weiner, E. S. C., The Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford UP, 1989, Reprinted 1991. ISBN 0-19-861186-2. * Wallace, David, Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron, Cambridge UP, 1991. ISBN 0-521-38851-1. External links *A Glossary for the Works of Geoffrey Chaucer Category:The Canterbury Tales Category:Works by Geoffrey Chaucer Category:Medieval literature Category:History of literature Category:English literature Category:Lists of English words Category:The Canterbury Tales Category:Works by Geoffrey Chaucer Category:Medieval literature Category:History of literature Category:English literature Category:Lists of English words